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UA Student-Athletes Fight for Cancer Awareness

Wildcat athletes are working with the Movember Foundation, which was established to create awareness for prostate and testicular cancer.

Student-athletes at the University of Arizona do much more than just play sports and go to class.

Junior softball player Chelsea Suitos and senior swimmer Sam Rowan, members of theStudent Athlete Advisory Committee, have actively taken on the opportunity to create awareness for the Arizona Movember Foundation.

The Movember Foundation was established to create awareness for prostate and testicular cancer. The community can get involved by growing a mustache, or by donating.

To encourage people to participate in Movember, Suitos and Rowan will be creating awareness and involvement at five different Arizona sporting events.

"I get gratification from this organization by spreading awareness," Suitos said. "One out of six men have prostate or testicular cancer. Because of these staggering numbers, I believe it is very important to spread awareness."

Since its inception in 2003, Movember has had and continues to have success across the country.

"Since 2003, $446 million has been raised," Rowan said. "It is an honor to be a part of it."

The Movember Foundation has created a unique way of spreading awareness – by asking male participants to grow a mustache for the entire month of November.

"The mustache represents a symbol for the cause," Suitos said. "It is a good conversation starter, because if someone asks about their mustache, they can say it's for a cancer awareness organization. That leads to spreading the word about the foundation to others."

Women can also participate in Movember by visiting www.Movember.com and searching Wilbur Wildcat. There, they can become a team member and send words of encouragement to the men who are participating.

People in the Tucson community can also go to Arizona Athletics events and be a part of Suitos and Rowan's efforts.

"The sky is the limit for how much money we can raise as an organization," Suitos said. "The main goal is to have people donate out of the goodness of their hearts."

The foundation has also benefited the Arizona Athletics community in a positive way.

"The primary goal is to bring student-athletes together," Rowan said. "It is good to see the big sports like football and basketball collaborate with non-revenue sports like swimming and gymnastics to come together with ideas for the cause of Movember. Our sports department has become more closely-knit because of the foundation."

Extra Info

Suitos and Rowan will inform the public about Movember through the entirety of the month. Participants can stay active through multiple social media platforms, such as www.ArizonaWildcats.com, Twitter (@ArizonaAthletics) and Facebook.